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Seed Savers Exchange is a non-profit, 501(c)(3), member supported organization that saves and shares the heirloom seeds of our garden heritage, forming a living legacy that can be passed down through generations.
Our mission is to save North America's diverse, but endangered, garden heritage for future generations by building a network of people committed to collecting, conserving and sharing heirloom seeds and plants, while educating people about the value of genetic and cultural diversity.
At the heart of Seed Savers Exchange are the dedicated members who have distributed hundreds of thousands of heirloom and open pollinated garden seeds since our founding 35 years ago. Those seeds now are widely used by seed companies, small farmers supplying local and regional markets, chefs and home gardeners and cooks, alike.
Seed Savers Exchange was founded in 1975 by Diane Ott Whealy and Kent Whealy to honor this tradition of preserving and sharing. Their collection started when Diane's terminally-ill grandfather gave them the seeds of two garden plants, Grandpa Ott's morning glory and German Pink tomato. Grandpa Ott's parents brought the seeds from Bavaria when they immigrated to St. Lucas, Iowa in the 1870s.
Today, the 890-acre Heritage Farm, near Decorah, Iowa, is our home. We maintain many thousands of heirloom garden varieties, most having been brought to North America by members' ancestors who emigrated from Europe, the Middle East, Asia and other parts of the world.
Unlike Fort Knox, Heritage Farm is not surrounded by security fences and guards. Our perimeter is patrolled by bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, deer, raccoons and other wildlife. The farm is ringed by hiking trails that take visitors through majestic scenery, past our certified organic preservation gardens, historic orchard and ancient White Park Cattle.
The buildings on the farm are also a treasure. Amish carpenters have built a meeting center in the barn's cathedral-like loft and have completed the unique visitors center and gift shop that will offer a wide selection of heirloom seeds, horticultural books and garden gifts.
The farm is certified organic and adheres to the Safe Seed Pledge.
Preservation Gardens:
There are many thousands of heirloom garden varieties being permanently maintained at Heritage Farm. The Preservation Gardens are planted on certified organic land and are open for public viewing. From each packet of seed purchased, 25 cents goes into an endowment to pay salaries of employees who maintain SSE's vast collection.
Historic Orchard:
In 1900 there were about 8,000 named varieties of apples in the U.S., but the vast majority are already extinct and the rest are steadily dying out. In an attempt to halt this constant genetic erosion, SSE has obtained all of the pre-1900 varieties that still exist in government collections and large private collections, but has only found about 700 that remain of the 8,000 known in 1900. SSE has developed a diverse public orchard, where hundreds of different varieties of 19th century apples are on display. SSE's Historic Orchard also contains many old grapes, including more than 100 breeding lines from the collection of famed grape breeder Elmer Swenson.
Ancient White Park Cattle:
These cattle roamed the British Isles before the time of Christ, and are described exactly in ancient Celtic lore. Today only about 800 of these extremely rare, wild cattle survive worldwide, including slightly more than 200 in the U.S. (and about 80 of those reside at Heritage Farm). These distinctive cattle have white coats, lyre-shaped horns with black tips, and black ears, noses, eyes, teats and hooves (and sometimes black is splashed from the hooves up the front shins toward the knees). The cows are intelligent, alert, quite hardy, healthy, and are aggressive grazers that favor brush.
Visitors are welcome at Heritage Farm from April through October. The Lillian Goldman Visitors Center is open weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and weekends 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Donations are suggested to help us with our preservation work. Guided tours and bus tours are available for a charge of $3.00 per person. Please contact Seed Savers Exchange at 563-382-5990 for more information or to arrange a tour.
Used by permission from Seed Savers Exchange)
